The Many Colors of Fanta in Belize and A History You Might Not Have Imagined

Fanta is a critical part of my day to day life in Belize – much like these products that I never used in the states. Today it is a product of the Coca-Cola company and those products, Coke, Coke Light, Sprite and Fanta are bottled in Belize by Bowen & Bowen Ltd. The company that produces Belikin beer. And it is for sale at every single supermarket in the country.

In the US, Fanta (at least where I was from) was always sold at Latino markets and in Latino neighborhoods. Unlike sodas like Pepsi, Coke, Mountain Dew, 7-Up, Sunkist Orange…it wasn’t at the stores of my childhood. I think I only became aware of it when they started the “Wanna Fanta” commercials with their spokes-singers and dancers, The Fantanas.

Says Wikipedia: According to the Fantanas’s website, they lived on Fantana Island and were accidentally discovered by an entertainment mogul named Sir Juan-Carlos Martinez after he fell off his yacht and was washed ashore on that island, seeing their work.

Awesome. Here’s one of the old CATCHY commercials.

But Fanta’s origins are not in the Latin world at all. In fact, they are in…super strangely…Nazi Germany. Where it was invented when they were cut off from importing American-made Coca Cola.

The head of Coca-Cola Deutschland “decided to create a new product for the German market, using only ingredients available in Germany at the time, including whey and apple pomace – the “leftovers of leftovers”. It was named after the word “fantasie” in German. (All Wikipedia.) For more information on the connection, check out this uber-interesting blog post.

It was discontinued when the war was over and German Coca-Cola reunited with the parent company but then re-introduced in the 50s when Pepsi amped up the competition.

All in line, they look beautiful. But, though, I drink tons of soda water and have been known to drink an Orange Fanta, iced cold, about five times a year, I really hadn’t tried the others. Now was the time. And I enlisted a mystery taster, a chef in San Pedro, to help me judge.

We had 8 bottles, index cards and one rule. Since neither of us are regular (sugar-ed) soda drinkers, the word SWEET was not allowed. The object: the write three words or short phrases to describe the flavor.

We started with PINK TONIC – tinted pink so that it is distinguishable from soda water by bartenders – who are grabbing them quickly to make drinks. It was deemed by the MT (Mystery Taster) to be best in class: Bitterlicious. I agreed. Bitter, refreshing and prickly.

It’s great with rum and lime. And makes a beautiful mixed drink.

GREEN GINGER ALE: My favorite but we both agreed, a pretty weak ginger ale by ginger ale or beer standards. MT asked “Helllloooo? Ginger…are ya there?” It is my favorite of the bunch. Light – a good guzzler.

BROWN ROOTBEER: While I thought it is classic while very sugary, MT’s three phrases were “cavity, hello Dentist and burp”.

ORANGE: Orange is a amped up (sugar-wise) version of your childhood orange soda…and a crazy thirst quencher when you are BEYOND PARCHED. It’s like heaven when you are fresh out of the water after snorkeling. MT disagreed: “Vitamin C-sick, poor man’s Tang and headache”.

YELLOW PINEAPPLE: This one made me wonder…were we drinking concentrates? Were these supposed to be watered down? This bubble gum, perfume-y, Hawaiian, dayglow fizz was not liked by either tester. MT called it “Runts Mouthwash” after the sweet little fruit flavored.

PURPLE GRAPE: This one hits you like a purple punch and leaves you with an almost black tongue. FLAVORFUL! I though perhaps a cough syrup, MT called it “Fabuloso” and wrote “Oh good lord”. At this point, he was entering a sugar coma…and was begging for mercy. But we can’t stop now…the king of sugar kings!…

RED FRUIT PUNCH: We agreed that we had saved the worst for last. We wrote almost the same things on our cards: Cream soda? and cotton candy mouth. Shiver.

And I forgot one interesting myth/fact: it is thought that orange or red Fanta is a main ingredient in the uber-sweet ketchup they serve at the fast food/Chinese shops…that is slathered all over the fried chicken. Makes sense!

Man. That was intense. WHO SAID BLOGGING WAS EASY? I can only be glad that I DON’T LIVE in Japan (though my brother does…this gives me ideas) where they have flavors like La France, Mellow Muscat, Moo Moo White and Mystery Fruit.

Obviously, this is all subjective. I dare YOU to take the Fanta challenge and let me know what you think. Just make sure that you have a few hours afterwards to nurse your headache…

Post navigation

Orange Fanta is my go-to drink after walking around on a hot day. I think immediately following it up with a rum & Coke reduces the chances of a headache later, replacing it with the more classic hangover . . . . I do go for a soda water with a twist of lime when I want everyone to think I am drinking booze.

When I was a young’un, growing up in the white middle-class Midwest, Fanta arrived when I was about 15 and disappeared 5-6 years later. never saw it again until my initial visit to Belize, MANY years ago.

actually …we have met…a few times…when you had tacklebox.
above-/- i was referring to ‘mysteryboy’

Wilma

We grew up with orange and grape Fanta in the 60s in Georgia and you can still find them there in grocery stores and convenience stores. Here in the Toledo District, you can’t always find all the flavors you get in San Pedro, but orange, grape, soda, and tonic are fairly common.

BOWEN&BOWEN’S GRAPE SODA SHOULD BE OUTLAWED …SIMPLY B/C OF THE FLAVOR….
PLS..GIMMY A BREAK …..THAT STUFF SKUS.
[GIMMY A PEPSI PRODUCT….GRAPE ‘RICA”…ANYDAY].
AND THE ORANGE….NOT EVEN CLOSE TO PEPSI’S TASTEFULL ”MARINDA” ORANGE……STANDARDS….
……
WILL BOWEN&BOWEN EVEN BE IN BUISNESS ..PAST 10 MORE YEARS.?
……
I GOT A GREAT BARRY , JOKE… BUT IT’S SO. VISUAL;..
ASK ME IN PERSON…IF YOU HAVENT ALREADY HEARD IT.

GRAPE RICA AND ORANGE MARINDA..USED TO BE SOLD IN BELIZE…..WITH ALL THE OTHER GREAT FLAVORS FROM PEPSI…[research ”glass hill”].
IF YOU ALSO ARE A GRAPE SODA FREAK….YOU GATTA TRY A RICA….[NEXT TRIP TO MELCHOR]
……
THE BELIZE ”LEMONADE” brand……IN MANY FLAVORS, IS EXCELLENT. AND TO ME..WAY BETTER THAN BARRY’S.

We do the Fanta from Mexico orange strawberry grape pineapple all with real sugar I think they are less sweet compared to the American version (high fructose corn syrup) most have a great nose when you open them especially the pineapple and the orange the whole room is filled with that sweet scent of refreshment but oddly enough real fruity in taste! Side note we even have from Mexico squirt all are in a bottle! When was the last time you had a Squirt?

Chosen from over 1000 bloggers to join the…

extra sidebar widgets

Search for:

About Me

My name’s Rebecca and over eight years ago (!) I moved from Manhattan, NYC (where I worked as a bond trader at Lehman Brothers) to San Pedro, Belize. Holy crap, what a change. I spent a full year deciding if Belize was right for me, over 3 years managing a sometimes gritty bar & restaurant and now over 3 years travelling, living and writing this blog. As you can imagine, I’ve seen the good, awesome, bad and the ugly (though not often). I’ve got lots to say and so here’s my website and my daily blog.

I originally set out to show you all sides of life on the island of Ambergris Caye and now it’s time to expand to the amazing country of Belize. So much to see in one tiny country.

For more information on how and why I moved here, an estimate of how much it costs to live in San Pedro and advice about packing and planning, check out my post series about my expat life.

Other Belize Sites I Read

As always, feel free to contact me with any and all questions you have. Feedback (positive is always preferred but not absolutely mandatory) is also welcome. It’s VERY helpful to me if you try to answer your own question by searching my site. Also, I can NOT find you a job. Honestly…I can’t. I would if I could.

Get 10% off the regular rate for any Tropic Air flight except those that fly internationally (to and/or from Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras). When choosing your flight times, please allow 45 minutes upon landing to clear customs and to check in and pay at Tropic Air. For your return flight time, you are asked to be at the International Airport 2 hours ahead of your scheduled flight.

See you soon... you can thank me when you get here!

First Name:

Last Name:

Email Address:

Departure Date:

Departure Time (Approx.)*

Return Date:

Return Time (Approx.)*

* Please note that flight time vary slightly depending on the departure and destinations. Choose the time closest to the hour that's best for you!

Number of Passengers:Passenger Names

Departing From:

Arriving At:

Comments of Special Requests?
Please Enter the Characters in the space below